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Chakrit Samithinan |
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Chakrit Samithinan & Saichol Kraiamat |
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
The current Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Airforce (RTAF), Air Chief Marshal Punpakdee Pattanakul, late last year had the idea of staging an international airshow in Thailand, more precisely at Transport Wing 601 opposite the Don Mueang International Airport. The event was to be held under the theme “Sovereignity in the Skies through Strong Cooperation”, not only to instill pride in the RTAFs’capabilities but also to foster international friendships by strengthening security cooperation with allied airforces.
Thailand has not seen an airshow with foreign air forces as participants for a long time. As ACM Pattanakul will retire in Autumn 2025 as commander in chief, the preparation for such an airshow had to take place in a relatively short period of time. Initial contacts with China, India and Korea and Singapore revealed that China, India and Singapore were open to a participation at such a meeting at relatively short notice. The Koreans who supplied Thailand with the T-50TH however declined the invitation extended to the Black Eagles Aerobatic Team for unknown reasons which was somehow disappointing to see, considering that they had visited all other Asian countries who purchased the T-50 from them including Indonesia and the Philippines. While the participants of such a meeting had to be kept limited in numbers due to sharing the airspace over Don Mueang with the large civilian traffic, such a show would not be complete without a real stand-out attraction such as the hottest jet fighter of the present, i.e. the 5th generation F-35A which will soon become the most numerous fighter aircraft in the various NATO countries.
Opening flypast of the Royal Thai Air Force
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
A contact was established with the United States Air Force (USAF) with a request for the dispatch of the F-35A Demo Team from Hill Air Force Base to Thailand. In view of the close cooperation and numerous joint-exercises with the USAF such as the annual Cope Tiger and Cobra Gold, the Americans could be convinced that a participation in Thailand would be a popular move, and they agreed to delegate the current F-35A Demo Team with Demo Pilot Melanie “Mach” Kluesner in the cockpit to Thailand. Rumors have it that the King of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn, who is a former F-5 fighter pilot, also might have had a hand in the USAF’s decision to bring the team to Thailand. As is by now customary, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) while agreeing to send a F-15SP and a F-16C together with the A-330 MRTT Tanker aircraft to Bangkok, they did not participate in the flying program.
Static
Apart from the usual RTAF aircrafts and helicopters, the static park included an F-15SP, an F-16C and an Airbus A-330 MRTT from the Republic Air Force of Singapore, a KC-135 of the USAF and on rehearsal days an Il-76 transport aircraft from the Indian Air Force. The Y-20 transport aircraft of the PLAAF was only stationary for a short time and left again before the writer had an opportunity to take a picture.
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Supporting Program
In addition to the flying program, a number of exhibition booths were erected in the Terminal building. Among them were booths showing the history of the RTAF and their capabilities. Representatives of companies offering weapons, drones and electronic equipment showed their products and SAAB, with whom the RTAF just ordered 12 JAS-39 Gripen E aircrafts showed a smaller model of the E-version. During the pauses in the flying program, lectures were held, among them by the Commander in Chief about the future plans for the RTAF and the intention to make Thailand a future Aviation hub.
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
The Participants
Thailand participated with Gripen, F-16, T-50TH and Fairchild A-23 during the opening flypasts and a Gripen sporting an attractive Jubilee decoration on the tail presented a solo display. Rounding off the Thai participation was an exercise called Hot Scramble which featured two Gripens producing a hot alert response to an airspace-infringing F-16.
China, who are regularly participating with parts of the RTAF in annual joint-exercises called “Falcon Strike” and held in Udon Thani, dispatched their premier team, the 1st August aerobatic team with 6 Chengdu J-10C to Thailand. They had previously visited Thailand in 2014 during a joint Thai-Chinese exercise held in Korat. They also used Bangkok frequently as stop-over and refueling base for trips to Malaysia and other destinations further west.
India decided to send their premier display team called Surya Kiran fresh from the Aero India Airshow in Bangalore with 9 Hawk MK 132 aircrafts to Thailand. Surya Kiran means Sun Ray in Sanskrit. India’s air force is a rare visitor to Thailand but way back in 2008, the team had been performing at Don Mueang with Indian-made HAL Kiran MK II aircrafts.
Singapore sent, as mentioned earlier, one aircraft each of F-15 SP, F-16C together with a A-330 MRTT Tanker aircraft to be displayed in the static park.
Last but not least the main attraction from the USA, the F-35A. The team arrived from Hill Air Force Base in Utah via a stop-over in Japan due adverse weather conditions with two F-35As. They were supported and accompanied by a KC-135 tanker aircraft which sported an attractive retro look.
Saab JAS-39 Gripen
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
RTAF Scramble
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
The Flying Display
Rehearsals for the airshow took place on Wednesday, 5th March and Thursday, 6th March when from 09.15 to 09.45 h and from 11.15 to 11.45 h, civilian air traffic was paused to allow the flying rehearsals to take place. The writer was fortunate enough to be able to witness both rehearsal sessions.
On Wednesday, the RTAF flew the opening sequence with the formation flyby and the Gripen Demo as well as the Hot Scramble alert exercise while the 1st August team used the second time slot to get their validation flight done. An additional time slot was earmarked in the early afternoon for the Indian Surya Kiran team to rehearse. As they had only arrived late the previous evening with altogether 12 aircrafts, the afternoon slot was used for a familiarization flight with only 6 aircrafts. The weather was sunny and pollution was not a worry so photographers who were lucky enough to be in attendance were able to shoot better pictures on that day than on the following three days. The F-35A Demo Team was supposed to arrive at 13.15 on that day but due to bad weather conditions along the route, they had to make a stop-over in Japan before continuing their flight to Bangkok the next day.
Lockheed F-35 Lightning II
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
On Thursday, the morning sessions earmarked for rehearsals were not needed as the two teams had done their flights already on Wednesday. Everybody was waiting with a lot of anticipation for the arrival of the F-35A Demo Team which landed with two aircrafts at 13.00 h. followed by the accompanying KC-135 Tanker towards the evening. There was a time slot reserved for the F-35 validation flight in the afternoon, and only 90 minutes after arrival from Japan, the petite Melanie “Mach” Kluesner showed the small audience what kind of a big Power Lady she is.
1st August Team from China
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
Friday, being the first official day of the airshow, began with dark clouds and a 50% possibility of rain falling during the morning. It was also the day when the King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn, who is a former F-5 fighter pilot, and his Queen would grace the airshow with their presence. For this reason, the three sessions were compressed into one segment, roughly from 09.15 to 11.15 h. with all teams and individual performers taking part. The Chinese solo performer excelled with an extra low flypast with yellow smoke, yellow being the royal colour in Thailand and the F-35A performed an extra salutation pass for the high-ranking visitors. The light conditions were not the best and at one time, it began to drizzle slightly but fortunately not for long.
Surya Kiran team from India
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Kraiamat)
Saturday was the second official day and a lot more spectators were expected to make their way to the show area than on Friday. Punctually at 09.15 h, the show began with the Gripen Demo followed by the 1st August team. At 11.15 h, the Surya Kiran team was performing for the large crowd and at 13.15, the show ended with the Hot Scramble Alarm Exercise and the grand attraction of the show, the F-35A Demo team. Thereafter, a happy crowd began to walk to the numerous shuttle buses who would bring the visitors to the nearby Skytrain Station.
Conclusion
All in all, the 88th RTAF Anniversary Airshow must be termed a success and Thailand may well play a more important part in the aviation/airshow scene in the years ahead. Although the team organizing the show had next to no practical experience in staging such an international event, they handled the challenge in a very positive way. The weather was not the best with the exception of Wednesday and taking good pictures was a real challenge, particularly during the afternoon sessions. Catching the Surya Kiran team was particularly difficult as the full formation was seldom seen near the airshow location while the smaller formations flew somewhat closer to the show center.
Asked about the fact that Thailand was able to get the participation of both China and the USA in the same airshow, the Commander in Chief of the RTAF said quote: “We did not have special conditions for both the US and the Chinese aircrafts to join. Politics were set aside and mutual respect prevailed.”
From a spectator’s point of view, the show was also a success. While on Friday, only 15’678 registered spectators were in attendance, a large crowd of 113’726 visitors were recorded on Saturday. Airshows, although rare and small in nature, are very popular in Thailand and in order to avoid uncontrollable crowds, all visitors needed to register well in advance of the show by means of a QR code and showing their ID cards and/or passports upon arrival at the site. This was a clever move by the organizers which made the entire event more “manageable”. In return, the RTAF did not charge any entrance fee and offered the crowd unlimited water and even ice cream at no charge.
Finally, a great vote of thanks to the Public Affairs Division of the RTAF, in particular Khun Naphapa, who made it possible for the writer and for his fellow photographer to attend the show on all four days and who went beyond her call of duty to allow us to enjoy the privileges accorded to the local press corps.
